11.20.2006

Done Day

First draft of the second "issue" of my first ever comic is done. My artist, the amazing [Can I mention his name yet?] is doing some roughs this weekend and getting started probably tomorrow on #1. He'll be going fairly slow (as he's working on multiple projects and transitioning full time to comics right now), so I don't know when the actual book will be complete, but those first pages will be pretty special to me. I just hope I live up to how good he is with my scripts.

***What's less Machiavellian than chess, but can carry some of the same connotations? That's the question I asked myself for a while today, to no avail. I did learn about all sorts of Chaturanaga game family games though. None of them seemed to suit my purposes, so I went a different route.

***Friday night saw me finish up the breakdowns, where I figure out the pagination and beats of everything I'm going to write for the last 66 pages of the OGN. From there I was able to get over myself and my overanalysis of pacing, do my job, and let the editors tell me where it doesn't work. This will only backfire if they respond with, "It doesn't work anywhere." But there's a good chance nothing quite that bad will happen.

The rest of the weekend I work basically non-stop except for food and Monster House breaks. Damn that's a taut script, and one that I learned a lot from watching. Even the second time I was reminded how good it is. Wish I had that command.

***Work continues to be both awesome and frustrating. The 2007 schedule is basically set, and some of what I'd like to see done didn't make it into the game plan. I've jumped head-first into the rest of it though, and I'm trying to make the most of it.

Still, it's frustrating. Especially when someone takes the time to read something but doesn't actually read it. They say something that strikes you as odd and uninformed, then you go back and say, "Yeah, this could have been avoided if the instructions were followed." It's like that test back in elementary school, where you have a minute to complete a sheet with some crazy number of instructions on a page, but #1 is to read all the directions before beginning the test. When you get down, further, you realize that the test isn't to get the BS work done, it's to follow instructions. The last instruction tells you you've already won and to put your pencil down. The first time I got this, I was off to the races. Needless to say I felt like a chump. Anyhow, some things never change. Not for me, but, you know, for some people.

Having a good time taking full advantage of my ability to bust my ass so that the schedules are adhered to, only to have Murphy's Law constantly come into play. Today a colorist informs me that his hard drive bit the dust. He's not coloring multiple books right now. None of them are due this week...

I do the best I can. I work in comics for a living. I'm getting published and collaborating with an awesome artist. I guess that's all I can ask for at 22. 23... You're in for so much trouble.